Responding to the Welsh Government Economic Mission, Derek Walker said:  

The Welsh Government’s economic mission underlines the importance of the Well-being of Future Generations Act as the blueprint for how the Welsh economy needs to work for people and planet. I am pleased to see the focus on fair work, the everyday economy and the climate emergency.  

I welcome the commitment to using Wales’ well-being indicators to measure and evaluate the economic mission. I urge local authorities, Corporate Joint Committees and Growth Deals to follow the Welsh Government’s lead and shape regional economic plans around the well-being goals.  

Public bodies and Public Services Boards across Wales are prioritising foundational and circular economy approaches and green skills in their local well-being plans and I look forward to supporting these plans to generate and circulate wealth within our communities, improve people’s well-being and achieve a low carbon economy. I am pleased to see a focus in the mission on helping people overcome barriers to accessing employment – and as we look at building green and digital skills for the future, we need equal access to these opportunities for everyone in Wales. 

To make the economy work for current and future generations we need to go further and be bolder. We are still using resources at a faster pace than we can replenish them – if every country produced and consumed at the rate we do in Wales we would need two planets to sustain the global economy. Our economy is far from sustainable in its current form which is why I’m urging all levels of government and businesses to face up to this challenge and take action. 

I would urge the Welsh Government to ensure every single penny used to support business is tied directly to achieving Wales’ well-being goals. The leadership Welsh Government is demonstrating in mobilising business behind fair work and decarbonisation is making a difference in our economy. We need that same drive to achieve all seven national well-being goals and ensure businesses enhance nature, produce healthy foods for people, pay employees a real living wage and invest in the well-being of our communities. 

In my new strategy, Cymru Can, I have set out my priorities as Future Generations Commissioner on how I will advise and encourage public bodies to involve people, social enterprises and communities in regional economic plans which prioritise decarbonisation, circularity and a foundational economy. Wales can lead the way to transitioning to an economy that serves people and planet first.